1977 Mercedes 280ce With 5 Spd. Conversion on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes gets handy with Apple Watch app

Whether you yourself have been caught up in Apple Watch fever or not, automakers have been embracing the new wearable device one after the other. The latest is Mercedes-Benz. The MB Companion App for the Apple Watch initially focuses on seamless navigation. Punch in your destination on your watch or iPhone and it'll port over to the onboard navigation system in your Merc. Park the car, get out and the directions will switch back over to the Apple Watch to guide you from your parking spot to your destination on foot. It's similar to the app Mercedes had designed for Google Glass, only in this application it actually stands a chance of catching on. Designed by Benz's Silicon Valley R&D center, the Apple Watch app is being rolled out this fall in the new C-Class and S-Class equipped with the COMAND Online navigation system. It's earmarked to to spread to other models as well, with further updates to the app planned to allow it to display the vehicle's fuel level, range, odometer and maintenance code. Of course, Mercedes isn't the first automaker to release an app for the Apple Watch. It's not even the first German automaker to do so: BMW previewed its app for the device back in September, and Volkswagen got on board earlier this month. Mercedes-Benz to introduce new App: Guided all the way: Mercedes-Benz is one of the first to introduce Door-to-Door Navigation with Apple Watch May 15, 2015 Stuttgart/Sunnyvale. Mercedes-Benz creates an intelligent integration between Apple Watch and Mercedes-Benz vehicles with its new MB Companion App. The MB Companion App allows Mercedes-Benz costumers to search for directions on the Apple Watch or on iPhone initiating a complete door-to-door experience. A seamless integration unfolds: giving walking directions to the car on the Apple Watch, driving directions on the vehicle navigation system and again walking directions on the Apple Watch from the car to the final destination. The destination that the driver selects on Apple Watch is passed to Mercedes-Benz COMAND Online once the driver starts the vehicle. He then receives safe and non-distracting driving directions to his selected destination from Mercedes-Benz navigation. When the driver parks and leaves his car, Apple Watch gives him walking directions to the final destination making it the perfect guide for "Last Mile Navigation".

2015 Mercedes-Benz S550 PHEV offers the best of both worlds it's ready to conquer

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class just keeps growing – both in terms of dimensions and in terms of variants. Nevermind the S-Class Coupe for a moment and focus only on the sedan: in North America alone, you can get the big Benz in S550, S600, S63 and S65 spec, and at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year, Daimler has rolled out the new Maybach version as well. But if it's a more environmentally friendly way to woosh around town in serene luxury that you're after, you'll want to look at the new S550 Plug-In Hybrid. Joining Daimler's growing range of battery-powered models alongside the E400 Hybrid, B-Class Electric Drive and Smart ED (the latter soon to be replaced by an all-new version), the S550 PHEV is the German automaker's first plug-in hybrid. It was first announced over a year ago and made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, but now the US-spec car is making its North American debut in LA. Promising "the performance of a V8 and the fuel consumption of a compact model," the S550 PHEV pairs a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 to an 80-kW electric motor, the S550 PHEV packs a combined 436 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque to reach 62 in just 5.2 seconds, top out at 130 miles per hour or drive up to 20 miles on electric mode alone. On the European combined cycle, it'll return an impressive 84 miles per gallon, all the while never skimping on the luxury. Scope it out in our gallery of photos from the show floor in LA and delve into the details in the press release below. First PLUG-IN HYBRID with a star: S550 PLUG-IN HYBRID The new Mercedes-Benz S550 PLUG-IN HYBRID blends an ultramodern hybrid drive configuration with the unique innovations and the luxurious equipment and appointments of the S-Class. The luxury sedan impresses with exceptional dynamism and efficiency. Thanks to standard pre-entry climate control it also offers unique climate comfort. The first certified three-liter luxury sedan in the world is a further milestone on the road to emission-free mobility. "The S550 PLUG-IN HYBRID is the first luxury sedan with the performance of a V8 and the fuel consumption of a compact model. The greatest challenge in this is to translate efficiency into superior performance. In this respect there is a highly interesting parallel with our successful Formula 1 racing car, which likewise has a turbocharged V6 engine and a high-tech hybrid drive," says Prof. Dr.

Mercedes plotting E-Class Maybach, next A-Class for the US?

Mercedes-Benz has opened 2015 by hinting at a host of new products. Dieter Zetsche nudged the idea that there'll be a Maybach-branded SUV. AMG chief Tobias Moers told Motor Trend that "We want to be seen by the public on the same level as the other sports car maker in Germany" when asked if his crew was working on a car to rival the Porsche 918 Spyder. That and a few other tidbits have people thinking that we'll eventually see some sort of celestial AMG supercar. The latest handful of hints came from Mercedes USA CEO Steve Cannon during an interview on the marque's move to Atlanta. Cannon told Automotive News that we'd "see more from the Maybach brand," leaving the impression that there "could" be an E-Class draped in the superluxury trim. If such came to pass, there's plenty of pricing room between the E and the S-Class to slot a higher trim in. The top non-AMG E-Class starts at $62,350, the S-Class opens the bidding at $94,400. Even if you slapped the E-Class with the $23,000 premium it takes to make an S600 a Maybach S600, you've still got plenty of breathing room between the midsized and full-sized sedans. At the antipodal end, Cannon told AN that we could get a front-wheel-drive Mercedes smaller than anything here right now. That leaves the A-Class, since we've already got the B-Class. Getting the next-gen A-Class here would help with CAFE numbers, and since it will be built in the new factory in Aguascalientes, Mexico it won't have far to travel to get here. We're told it won't be like the current car, however; Cannon said, "The A-Class will change from what you have seen and from what you are used to." We hope that's a good thing, because we really like the current car. Related Video: